


A Chat in the Park

by thisnewjoe



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Divorce, F/M, First Dates, Getting Together, Picnics, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:49:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisnewjoe/pseuds/thisnewjoe
Summary: The pack is doing well and the Sheriff finally recognizes he's got a personal interest to pursue. He's avoided it for a long time, and John can't deny that the pack has done a great job of reducing the supernatural threats to Beacon Hills. Now, with a bit more time on his hands, his interests turn to romance, and he suspects that a certain wonderful nurse Melissa McCall he's been friends with for years is probably at least a little interested in him, too.





	A Chat in the Park

John sat outside the shop, on a bench shaded partly by the awning above him. He's been wanting to talk with Melissa about this for a long time, and wasn't sure he was ever really going to ask her. In fact, he'd been specifically avoiding moving the whole idea out of vague fantasy and into reality until the pack interfered with their helpful suggestions.

And prodding. And endless hint-dropping. When he realized the wolves could sniff-out his interest in Melissa whenever he was thinking about her in more than a passing manner, he tried hard to hide from them. Thoughts of rotten onion ice cream, tetanus soufflé, standing in front of the deputies in a speedo… none of it seemed to be good enough. The mind wants what it wants, and the wolves wanted him to be happy. That's what they kept saying, but the anxiety was out of control.

John decided that a Sheriff, busy as he always was, and a nurse, busy as she always was, also deserved a fresh chance at finding and having love together for the rest of their lives. Stiles and Scott were both fervently in agreement that John and Melissa should get married so they could finally declare they were, officially, brothers.

Derek had gotten his pretty well worked-out after a lot of therapy, and was an admirable Alpha now. Stiles was pack emissary, and the rest of the pack were all doing well in their jobs after college. Stiles figured-out how to do the emissary job remotely, using video conferencing and a lot of dubious spellwork that John made sure not to ask him too much about, since he always got that look on his face.

The look that he was in trouble for something and just hoping he wouldn't get caught. The Sheriff was quite familiar with that look, having seen it on his kid since long before Claudia passed, and long before Melissa and Rafe separated.

"Hi John! Thanks for meeting me here!" The voice belongs to exactly the person he's been waiting to see. "I got some snacks, too. Is that alright?" Melissa poked her fingers into the bag, lifting and sliding the items around. John idly wished he had werewolf senses at that moment, so he could smell the contents of the bag.

"I'm sure they're fine," he says, rising from the bench and picking-up the covered basket he'd brought with a few dishes prepared by Stiles, with a bit of John's help with the prep. John didn't cook much, partly because the hours of the small Sheriff's office made it difficult to plan his meals ahead. Stiles has supported him with food deliveries for years, and never seemed to be bothered by it. It was probably because Stiles liked controlling John's diet to some degree, and since the food was usually pretty good, John got used to not having the much less healthy defaults he would choose for himself in a pinch.

"Shall we?" Claudia said, tilting her head down the sidewalk.

"Yes, we shall," John agreed.

They walked and talked about idle things. Both of them seemed a little nervous about it all. John took it for as long as he could, but he hated beating around the bush, so before they'd even gotten to the park, he brought-up what's been on his mind.

"Hey, Melissa, I know this may sound a little… odd, but I wanted to make sure I am clear on things before I say anything else." Melissa seemed unphased by the unusual entry to conversation. She nodded. "What's the legal status of your relationship with Rafe?"

"Legal status? If you mean to ask if we're still married, we aren't. I verified a couple years ago that everything was completely separate between us. The divorce happened years ago, but there were things that lingered." She looked at him, and spoke brightly when she declared, "There's nothing at all between Rafe and me anymore, and it's delightful that way."

"Yes, that seems good." His could feel the heat warming his eartips. 

"Oh, and why is that, John?" He had the sense that she already knew what he was getting around to asking, and as he set the blanket out on the grass, and motioned for her to set her bag down, he grumbled.

"Well, I think we should talk."

"We're already talking, John." He wanted to be annoyed that she was teasing him, but he couldn’t convince himself to pretend he was bothered.

"I think we should talk about how you and I maybe, might wanna, I… Do you want to go out with me? Like, real dates and romance and flowers sometimes, and forgotten anniversaries and all that?"

She laughed more freely than he'd heard in a long time. "John, I'd love to forget anniversaries with you. Now, today doesn't count as a date, so when are you taking me out?"

Being a man who supports women's freedom to choose and manage their lives, as he is, his instinct is to tell her that she could take him out. She must have been following the train of thought and her raised eyebrow spoke what she didn't need to say: John started this, so he's going to take her out first.

"Umm… I don't know. We have weird schedules. When are you free?" They take several minutes to discuss their schedules and find a few times that work, with caveats that either may be called-in for work, and after fiddling with details, they both give up on trying to cover all the possible reasons there might be an excuse.

"And, you know, there are potential supernatural threats, too." Those are too important to ignore, but they can't always see them coming despite Stiles' advanced skills. John agreed that those could pose a problem.

"I propose a rule. Feel free to accept or decline. Or counter-offer, if you've got a different idea." At John's nod, she explains. "Let's agree that regardless what we plan, and how important it is to us, that emergencies affecting life and community come first. You're a protector, I work in healthcare, and both of us could have something happen. We can feel disappointed that we can't meet, but let's agree that we won't blame each other, or ourselves, for doing what needs to be done."

"I accept." It took barely a moment to realize this agreement was the foundation on which the potential success of their relationship was going to happen. They couldn't blame themselves, each other, or the world just because a thing happened that one or both needed to deal with. Hopefully, of course, those would be few.

"And the pack has been real good about building a reputation that keeps most supernaturals away."

"It does mean the ones that come tend to be worse, though."

"And your son's negotiation skills have lead to these interpack alliances, and that's made all the difference."

"Yeah, he's kinda brilliant, even if he is sometimes a dopey asshole."

"Hey! That's Stiles! He's amazing!" She admonishes, and John feels a little bad. "And sometimes he's an uncoordinated dope who missed the obvious things." That gets a smirk out of the Sheriff.

"I'm just glad that every time he needed to be patched-up, you and the pack were there to make it happen."

"And I'm glad that whenever I worried about my son, I knew your worries about your own meant that you'd be watching-out for them all." She pulls at her curls. "I would have sworn I'd have turned grey years ago due to everything that was going on, but I think we did a pretty good job."

John nodded. "Yeah, we have." The pack was running well, with Derek and Scott differentiating the leadership roles in ways that suited them and the oddity that was the hale pack quite well. 

"Melissa, how long do you think we have to go before we just… take the next step?"

Melissa leaned into him. "Not long, I think. But let's draw it out a bit to drive the wolves crazy. And our sons."

"I would love to give them all a little grief."

"I knew you would!"


End file.
